


Changes

by BeautyIsInTheBookshelves



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Marichat, Original Akumatized Character(s) - Freeform, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24373702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautyIsInTheBookshelves/pseuds/BeautyIsInTheBookshelves
Summary: Years have passed since high school. Marinette and Adrien have graduated and are now totally different people. Adrien is ever a famous model, but he is now also a writer and activist. Marinette dropped out of college and runs her own popular online fashion boutique. But the two of them have not changed their routine of being the protectors of Paris.One night on a routine trip to a fabric store, Chat Noir saves Marinette from getting run over by an akuma controlled vehicle. And thanks to the Ladyblog, people go nuts and believe that the bluenette is actually his secret lover. And once it gets wind of Hawkmoth, she becomes the victim of his akumas in a hope to try and get to Chat Noir through his heart.They both know that they aren't dating. But as Marinette ends up being put in more and more danger, they end up spending time together as to stop Hawkmoth from coming after her. But as the time passes with them together, the way that they feel starts to change for the better.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim, Sabrina Raincomprix/Original Character(s)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 176





	1. 25 Years Old

As Ladybug and Chat Noir, they were known as the protectors of Paris. The perfect crime fighting duo. The perfect pair. The man and woman led team that protected the city of France every single night and day to no avail. People looked up to them from all over. Fell in love with them. Adored them. But when they weren't Ladybug and Chat Noir, their lives were even more hectic. It's almost shockingly unbelievable how a life as a superhero was a bit more of fresh air than being an everyday Parisian. Especially with the lives they led after high school and a bit after college.

Adrien Agreste was already a well known figure, even without the black leather suit and ears. His face was plastered all over front page magazines, billboards, television and even the sides of buses. As he grew up, it got better for his public image and jobs he would receive as a model. The pictures he took were now a bit more sexier than when he was a teen. More skin here and there. Different angles. People all over the globe loved the pictures of him. But after leaving his home and his overprotective father, Adrien started to do more than just modeling. He started writing books filled with his romantic poetry and started actively voicing his opinions to the many movements that he supported. He had changed a lot in appearance, but there was still the softhearted Adrien there. The guy that didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings unless they truly deserved it. Even though he had money, cars, homes, he did not want to show it off. He kept them away and even donated them where people needed it. He pretty much had it all alongside his golden heart. All except for the one thing that he wanted to most. His partner, Ladybug. He had been in love with her since he first met her. From their first day fighting the huge rock monster, he had become completely entranced with her. And he wished with all of his heart that he could have her for himself. That she would share his feelings. But in the almost ten years of crime and akuma fighting that they have been together, there was no sign that she would share his feelings.

But he would never give up on he felt.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was a bit different than him. She was popular with her high school, known as the kind hearted girl who was willing to do whatever it takes to help those around her and just bring a smile on people's face. Almost everyone loved and adored her. And since high school, her dream was always owning her own fashion business. Even though her family wanted her to stay in their bakery, they respected her wishes and did their best to make her dreams a reality. But unfortunately, fashion school was expensive. Especially on the salary of a small bakery. Marinette dropped out, seeing no other choice and started her own online boutique. Creating custom fashions or everyday attire. The store ended up being a massive hit, with hundreds of orders left for the young girl to fulfill on her own. Even with all of the worry and fear going on in her life, she was still as sweet as ever. She made sure that some of her monthly proceeds went to charities she supported and supported others who had less than she did. And it was a busy life, but it was her life. And she loved it.

But being with Ladybug, it became the special thing in her day. Even with the annoying villains, danger and annoying love confessions of her black clad partner, it was exhilarating. But she wouldn't trade the life that she was given for the world. She just wished that one day that she could meet someone that she could share her life with. Marinette hoped that when she was younger, that she would end up being with Adrien Agreste, the cute model from her class. But as the years went by, she saw and realized that he could never love someone like her. And she became alright with that. A part of her was happy no matter what he chose to do with his life. Adrien could be with whoever he wanted.

She was fine working, creating and living all alone.

The two had completely different ideals in mind when it came to romance. But there seemed to be something that wanted to bring the two together. Some kind of higher being wanted them to be a couple. Just like there must had been a reason that they were chosen to be miraculous holders. And now, there was a reason that they needed to be together. All they needed was a push.

Literally.

That's how their days drastically changed.

Marinette had left that afternoon in a hurry, as she needed to gather some fabric and crystals for a custom prom dress for someone in Mumbai. And with the fabric she needed in such short supply in the first place, she needed to hurry before it was lost to her forever. And as for Adrien, it was one of his one and a million days off. He only had to have breakfast with his editor and he was free to basically do what he wished. The two of them were just doing what they had to basically.

Until an akuma appeared.

Adrien just so happened to see it first. As he moved down the corner, he noticed the bright colors coming from behind him. He turned on his heel, expecting some sort of parade or some sort of flash mob, as they were quite common in Paris. But it was an akuma. A giant truck just slowly pulled down the street, crushing other cars in it's wrath. It was bright blue with neon lights plastered all over. It blinded Adrien for a moment. He knew that it was an akuma immediately. No one would drive a monster truck of this size just on the street. He dropped his donut in shock and took off in a sprint to stop the villain that he had seen.

As for the smaller girl, she didn't notice, see or hear anything. With her headphones on and her mind hyper focused on getting her crystals and her roll of fabric, nothing made it past her. She simply just rushed out of the store, waving goodbye at the sweet old owner and his son and made her way towards the train. She struggled, hauling a gigantic roll in her hands and the small bag. She was pretty strong on her own. She worked out as much as possible on a shoestring schedule. But without the magical strength that the Ladybug persona gave her, it was a struggle. Holding the fabric, the bag stuffed with crystals, her purse and her phone all at once proved to be toiling almost automatically. Marinette ended up tripping on her boots laces, causing all of her items fell down onto the street.

She huffed, running a hand through her hair and looking down at the small mess in front of her. She knelt down, picking up the crystals by cupping her hand like she was in some body of water. But unfortunately for Marinette, the akuma truck zoomed down her street. The man inside of saw her and smiled so widely. Looking to make an example out of her and show the city that he was serious. He slammed down on the breaks, the truck rushing towards her. Marinette picked her up bag of crystals and turned over. When the truck was too close for anything to happen. Her eyes widened in shock as the metal of it almost kissed her entire body. It's shadow looming over her ominously. Marinette expected for a lot of pain, but felt nothing but a gust of wind towards her. The front wheels off the truck started to spin furiously as it was lifted off the ground just a tad. She turned over, on her hands and knees, seeing what had happened.

"Didn't you know that it's the law to watch for pedestrians?" he quipped, pushing his staff out harder and shoving the truck backwards. It twisted onto it's side, making it difficult for the driver to get back up again. Chat chuckled to himself, bringing in the parts of his staff and turning over to Marinette. "Are you alright?"

Marinette looked up at her partner. Thank goodness he had been here and noticed the akuma before she did. She nodded at him. Chat bent down on one knee, taking her hand and helping her back up. "Thank you Chat Noir." she said.

"Marinette right? Well, I certainly haven't seen you in a bit. How have you been?"

"Fine. I don't really go putting myself into dangerous situations often. I'm just a klutz."

"Not a problem. It's not like you chose this street to trip over when going in your calender." he said with a chuckle. The two were brought out of their little bubble from the furious sounds coming by him. He turned over, noticing the victim getting out of his car. He hissed. "I should probably take care of that guy." he said. "Are you going to be okay?"

She nodded. Chat knelt down, picking up her items and handing them to her. She struggled to take them in her arms. The akuma jumped out and pointed at Chat Noir. "You think that you can stop me?!" he yelled. "I am the king of the roads, and will squash all in my path! That includes you!"

"On second thought." he called, scooping Marinette in his arms as quickly as possible. He jumped up into air, landing on the roof close to the street but far from the angry monster truck owner. He set her and her items down gently. "You need to get somewhere safe."

"How am I supposed to do that on the roof of a building Chat?" she asked as a joke.

He chuckled. "Improvise? Don't worry. Ladybug and I will take care of everything. You just stay away from the streets, alright?"

"Uh... yeah sure." she said with a nod.

Chat nodded. He wagged his fake tail and bowed down to her dramatically. Marinette looked down at him, a bit shocked that this was happening to her. He took her hand and pressed a kiss against it before leaping down to stop with the akuma. She huffed. Her kitty was always so dramatic. "That damn cat." she called.

"Oh be nice. He saved your life." her adorable little friend called, popping out from out of her purse.

"But that didn't give him the right to a hand kiss."

"Oh please, he was being a gentleman. You should appreciate that."

"I never said I didn't. Alright Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

The rest of the day just passed by them both. The night came for both Adrien and Marinette like it was nothing. Adrien continued working on some poetry while Marinette boxed orders for dresses and jewelry. It was the next morning that basically woke them the hell up, not their alarms. Marinette had heard her cellphone ring about twenty times before finally deciding to answer it. She huffed, moving up from her bed and looking over at Tikki. The tiny magical creature looked just as annoyed as she did. She rubbed the top of her head as a sort of apology before picking up the phone. "Hello?" she groaned.

_"Good morning superstar!"_

"Alya? Why are you calling me this early? The sun has barely risen yet. Is everything okay?"

_"Everything is fine gal! Just fine! The question is is everything okay with you? You know, is everything dandy and lovely?"_

"You know that my days are packed with doing orders. Especially now that I am working on a custom dress. I guess the answer to that is no."

 _"Oh. So you haven't seen it?"_ Alya asked her, the excitement in her voice still just as evident as when she picked up the phone.

"Seen what?"

_"The pictures up! I just brought the rights to them and now they are up on the Ladyblog!"_

Marinette raised her eyebrow. She pulled the covers off of the bed and walked over towards her desk. She rubbed the keypad, opening up her laptop. She moved from her order page and opened up the Ladyblog. She had her alerts on for her friend's beloved blog. She was wondering what could be up this early and what her friend paid for. A part of her was worried that Alya had gotten an image of her detransforming or transforming.

It wasn't that..

Though that might have been less painful...

There on the featured page of her blog was an image of her on the roof. With Chat. He was knelt down and his lips lingered from off of her hand. The title was even worse. **_Has the black cat hero found his own lucky charm? Chat Noir and his beautiful mystery girl captured on camera!_ **Marinette's instinct was to scream.

_"Still here girl!"_

"Who took these?! Where did you get these?!" she cried.

 _"Some tourist from California filmed him saving you and got these pictures from a crash on his phone."_ she said excitedly. _"I gave him I think twelve hundred, but it was worth it! I've had thousands of new readers and subscribers! And tons of news outlets are trying to get in contact with me! You are huge girl!"_

"Alya! This is misconstrued. You know how much of a flirt that guy is! That doesn't mean that we are together!" she cried into her phone. "This is huge news!"

_"I know! You should be excited now that this is out in the open! And girl, you see that look in his eyes? You have to see it. He likes you. Like really likes you. I can see it."_

"He only likes Ladybug. That cat is like obsessed with her!"

_"Trust me. I really think that Chat really, really likes you hun!"_

"Alya! He doesn't! I know this is big for your blog, but this also about me we're talking about! I don't do this kind of publicity. I don't do this kind of spotlight thing!"

_"Marinette, look. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Look, I understand that you are a bit shocked and upset right now. But... this is a good thing even if it isn't true."_

"How?" she asked her friend.

_"This is publicity for your boutique. More people will flood your shop. And maybe you'll get the cash to open up a real place in Paris. News like this happens all of the time. And it'll die down too."_

Marinette exhaled. "You sure?"

 _"Damn sure."_ she said to her. _"Don't worry about it girl, I promise you this will be fine. I can still take it down if you want me to."_

She sighed, shaking her head. "No... no. This is big for you. And if you say that it is going to die down, then it is going to die down. I trust you." she said to her. "And I am proud of you. This looks like an amazing article. I can't wait to read it."

 _"Maybe I can make it up to you? Since I made you so upset."_ she said. _"How about I come by today and help you with your orders?"_

Marinette smiled. "That would be nice." she said. "See you then. Bye Alya."

_"See you Mari."_

Marinette hung up and groaned, moving back over to her bed and slamming herself down into the pillows. She wrapped herself in her blankets. She turned over, feeling a small little pressure on her head. "Are you okay Marinette?"

"I'm fine Tikki." she said. "I just want to sleep for a couple more hours."

Tikki slowly flew off of her hair and towards the computer screen. "Oh." she said. "Is this a giant deal for you?"

"Not really anymore." she said. "I know that Chat Noir loves Ladybug. The public will be curious for a while and then forget about this. I just wish I didn't have to wake up so early for it."

Tikki just chuckled at her owner. She moved over, resting on her cheek and pressing comforting kisses to it. She chuckled at the ticklish sensation.

* * *

"You know, I think that the article is kind of true."

"Plagg!"

"What? Come on, no one asked you to kiss her hand!" the tiny black creature said, a sly smile on his lips.

Adrien rolled his eyes at the small little creature, pulling out a small piece of cheese for him to nibble on. Plagg took it without question. "It's a term of endearment. We're in the city of love after all."

"So you basically just ended and denounced every argument that you might have had for me with that." Plagg said back to him, raising his miniature eyebrow.

Adrien chuckled. "Look, you know Alya. I've talked about her before. She was probably just looking for a story and so happened to see this guys pictures. This will die down soon enough and when this is over, Marinette will be able to get back to her life. And if anyone tries to invade her personal space, I'll get involved."

"You or Chat?"

"You know who." he said back, tapping his belly.

"Do I?" Plagg retorted.

Adrien chuckled. "You know that my heart belongs to Ladybug. Besides, news like this won't last. Tabloids always go away or are handed cease and desist. Trust me, this will all be over with soon."

Plagg watched as his owner stood up and picked up a book from his shelf. The little kwami slowly turned over to the picture of the two. He raised his eyebrow. "You sure about that?" he muttered, throwing the whole piece in his mouth.


	2. Way More Than Just Media Coverage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette expected the multiple emails from magazines, news stations and even the people she knew personally to bombard her with questions. What she didn't expect was an akuma to come after her for no reason at all.

Marinette sighed, pulling her sweater sleeve up to her knuckles as the train left one of it's stops. She could feel the eyes on her. She knew that people were staring at her. Probably trying to convinve themselves whether or not it was the girl that was in the article. The girl that was supposedly in love with Chat Noir. She had started getting annoyed after week one. Alya told her that the shock and interest would die down soon. But it didn't feel that way to her. She pulled out her headphone, listening to hear if there was any sort of delay. It would either be a normal unequivocal delay or an akuma caused delay. As she did, she noticed a little girl below her. Her curly hair sweeping over her chocolate chip like eyes. Marinette smiled at her, waving politely as she would always do to children. The little girl's eyes lit up. "Are you Chat Noir's princess?" she asked.

Marinette's eyes widened. "Um... excuse me? Princess?"

She nodded, quite happy with what she had asked. "My papa says that he is like a black knight and you're his princess!"

Marinette blushed from embarrassment. Is that what people really thought about this? The man sitting next to her turned over and saw her daughter speaking to someone she didn't know. "Abby." he whispered, patting her nose. "Leave the poor girl alone."

"Okay papa." she said with a smile.

The man turned over, giving her an apologetic smile. Marinette smiled back and waved. This Chat Noir thing was getting out of hand far quicker than she had expected it to. The train pulled into her stop and she rushed out of the train, still feeling the unwanted eyes on her. She hurried up the steps and towards a small apartment building. She knocked on the door lightly, still feeling eyes and hearing whispers. The door opened quickly and she was yanked inside, like a toy from child to child. She ended up falling with a yelp, dropping her bag and some of her items. "Oh! Sorry!"

Marinette sighed, moving some hair out of her face. "It's alright Sabrina." she said.

"I know who nosy people can be. I didn't want to keep you out there long and listening to all that gossip." she said, holding out a hand to help her up from the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Nothing broken." she said back, envolping her a sweet hug. "How are you?"

"All good. Just really nervous, ya know. So, how is the dress coming along?"

"It's going to be perfect. Is everyone upstairs already?"

"Yeah." she said, locking the door and leading her up the steps. Marinette entered the quaint little apartment. The smell of jasmine flowers and apple cider wafted into the air. Sabrina's apartment always smelled like some fruit mixture as she was an avid tea fan. Marinette set down her items near the front door and walked into the living room. She smiled at the people sitting there waiting for her. Sitting on the couch, nursing cups of tea and coffee were all of her close friends. Alya, Rose, Juleka and Max were conversing with one another before she had entered. Alya looked over at her, a wide smile on her face.

"Mari!" she called. "You made it! How was the train? Did anyone bother you?"

She chuckled, seeing her friend try to get up from the couch with a heavily pregnant belly in front of her. And the fact that she was carrying twins didn't make it any better. Marinette simply walked over to her and helped her get more relaxed. "She's been a lot more antsy since you said you were taking the train." Max called.

"You know how trains are!" Alya retorted.

"Well I'm alright, thank you for worrying momma to be. And no one bothered, just an adorable little girl asking me if I was Chat's princess." she said.

"Well, are you?" Rose asked, perked up as usual.

"Rose." Juleka called, poking her side to make her laugh.

"Okay. So dress. Are you ready Sabrina?" Marinette asked.

"Almost." she called, pointing down the hall where the other rooms were. One of the doors opened and a head poked out. A hand that wasn't his own was covering his eyes.

"Can I come out now?" he asked.

Sabrina chuckled. "Yes, you can come out now."

The door opened and out came three other guys. The man had the hand removed from his eyes. He let out an exhale as he approached Sabrina. He pressed a hand to her waist and pressed a kiss against her cheek. Sabrina's pale cheeks turned bright pink at the touch. The other two instantly rushed over towards their lovers. Nino knelt down in front of Alya, pressing a kiss to the belly before pressing a kiss to her lips. Kim did the same, taking Max's glasses from off of his nose, making him look up in confusion. Leaving his lips open for a sweet kiss.

Marinette chuckled. It was adorable how her friends found love around high school. Marinette held her hand out. "How are you doing Damian?"

"Just fine." he said, shaking her hand with a smile. "You hungry? I made breakfast, and there's a bunch of leftover bacon, eggs and sausage. There's also some iced coffee and Sabrina's tea."

"Oh. Thank you." she called. "But I think that I'm okay."

Damian grinned in understanding, then turning to his fiancee. "Now, is there something that you would like while I am forced out of the house for a couple hours?"

"I don't need anything. I'm fine." she said to him with a smile.

"Are you sure that I can't stay though?"

"You know that you're not supposed to see me in my wedding dress until the wedding."

"And _you_ know that I don't believe in superstitions."

"But I do. So you're listening to me."

"Alright, alright. Just text me when you're done, okay?" he asked. Sabrina nodded. He cupped her chin and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Anyone else need anything then?" he called.

"I'm alright." Max said with a smile, turning over to Kim and wiggling his eyebrows.

Kim rolled his eyes at him playfully. "Curly fries on the way babe." he said, pressing another kiss to his lips.

Max smiled, knowing how to get his way with his boyfriend. Damian looked over at Marinette, going into his pocket and handing her a small wad of cash. "Here you are." he said.

"Why?" Sabrina and Marinette said in unison.

"You didn't have to come all the way over here just for us." he said, pressing one more kiss to Sabrina's lips. "Come on guys, let's go and see a movie."

Nino pressed a kiss to Alya's lips. "See you guys later."

"Bye!" Rose called with a wide grin. The three men left with cheeks to each person's cheek. Nino took a bit more time leaving since Alya was pregnant, but they were eventually out the door. Marinette chuckled at them. "Don't worry Marinette. That will be very you soon!" Rose called, happily.

"Rose!" Juleka called once more.

Marinette just jokingly rolled her eyes. She opened the case that she had and pulled out the dress. She handed it to Sabrina. The red head smiled so widely, excited to put it on her body. Juleka got up to help Marinette set up the mirrors. "So..." Alya called. "Is everything alright? Really?"

"Yeah." she called, placing on her pin cushion. "It's not a big deal. Besides, it's only been a week."

"It will take a bit more for the publicity to die down." Max added, helping her set everything up in an organized way. "Don't you worry."

"You ready Sabrina?" called Rose, excited to see the dress.

"I... I think so." she called, opening the door and walking towards them.

"Oh my God!" Alya cried, seeing the beautiful silk on her body.

Sabrina walked in front of the mirror. It was gorgeous. "Oh Mari!" she cried, placing her hand over her mouth.

"Do you like it?" she asked. "I've been trying to make this was wonderful as possible with so many orders I have-"

"Marinette." she called, cutting her off. "Marinette, I love it. It's so beautiful."

"So, I am still currently working on expanding the train a bit. I just got the bejeweled fabric that we looked at last month. And I was wondering about the flowers." she said, taking out some fabric made flowers she sewed. I was wondering if you wanted it on the off the shoulder lining or belt."

"I don't know. What do you guys think?" Sabrina asked.

Max hummed, placing his hand under his chin. "The shoulder."

"Yeah." Alya said in agreement.

"Alright, let me know if I prick you." she said, placing a couple flowers down and pinning them in a certain way. Sabrina smiled widely, loving out it looked.

"Oh Damian is going to love this!" Juleka called.

"You look amazing Sabrina! Like a Disney princess!" Rose called.

Marinette grinned, she did look amazing. The bluenette knelt down to pick the fabric she had in mind for the veil when a giant crash came from outside. The group was startled when it came. "Uh... maybe it was a cat falling in a trash can?" Alya called, trying to stay optimistic.

Slowly, Sabrina pulled up the skirt of her dress and moved towards the wide window. She looked over and gasped. Marinette quickly rushed over, looking in just as Sabrina let out a shocked gasp. There in the middle of the street was a buff man, dressed in bright yet dark blue. His hands were extended as he walked down the street. As if he was just taking a stroll in the park. And as his arms extended, a gigantic wave moved in, collecting water from different buildings. She raised her eyebrow, confused as to what was going on. As the main slowly came towards their apartment, Sabrina heard the pipes start to rattle. "Guys... get behind the couch! Now!" she cried.

They all did as they were told, running behind the large couch. The pipes burst loudly and a giant wave of water crashed through the wall where the window was. Marinette peeked her eyes out, seeing the damage to the place that had happened. "Oh my God." she gasped.

"You don't know what you have until it's gone! You pollute our oceans with plastic and have the audacity to waste water in your own home? Now there will be no more water for anyone in Paris!" he yelled. The akuma turned over, looking for another building to make it's victim. But his eyes caught wind of something above. Marinette was still slightly hovering over the couch, trying to assess how to escape and get her friends out of there. He smiled. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Chat Noir's little girlfriend?"

"Mari!" Juleka called. "Get down."

"No need to hide from me ladies!" he yelled, the giant bubble of water washing from his arms expanding, knocking the couch away from them. Mari moved in front of Alya, not wanting her to be the one hurt. The water shoved towards her again, but it didn't touch Alya or any of her friends. It wrapped around her middle and pulled her up from off of the ground. She cried out.

"Marinette!" Sabrina and Alya yelled in unison.

"Put her down!" Max cried, getting up to try and chase after her.

The man rolled his eyes. He moved his other water arm and slammed it into Max. He flew backwards with the pressure of the water and slammed into the wall. Sabrina cried out in fear as the young man went unconscious. She and Rose both ran over to him, but Juleka and Alya cried out to Marinette. The arm pulled back towards the man, the two ending up face to face. The sneered a smile looking at her. "I think that getting those miraculous for Hawkmoth is going to be a hell of a lot easier now that I have his girlfriend with me."

Marinette couldn't help but groan. "I'm not his-" she was silenced as a wave of water came over her head and entire body. She didn't even get a minute to take a breath. Her eyes widened as water filled her mouth and her lungs started to burn. The akuma moved his real hand and slowly the water inside of her bubble dripped out and back into one of his additional arms. Marinette fell down, coughing out desperately as the giant pool inside dripped out. Leaving her in a bubble. The man chuckled, turning and walking away. Leaving Rose, Max, Sabrina, Juleka and Alya stuck in the apartment and distressed.

* * *

"Can you pull the jacket off a little more?"

Adrien looked down. He carefully pulled it apart to show his collarbone. He didn't want to ruin the necklaces and the shirt underneath that the wonderful designer and crew had spent so long to make perfect. He looked up at the photographer, looking for her approval. She smiled nodding and giving him a thumbs up. She took a couple of pictures, smiling at the images that she got in return below. She started to ask for certain things to be moved and different backdrops to be added. Adrien moved away from the backdrop, moving towards the company's main assistant. She quickly patted some powder on his forehead. "Thirsty?" she asked him.

He nodded. She set down her items and hurried to fetch a drink. He sighed, moving some hair out of his face, still being gentle as to not mess up the wet waves that the hairstylist had made. He turned over, seeing everyone working so diligently. It brought a smile to his face. He turned back, seeing the assistant return with a glass of ice water and two electrolyte packets. He smiled, he moved to take it from her, when the glass started to shake. He raised his eyebrow, taking it from her in a kind of snatch and setting it down. It shattered as soon as it touched the plastic table. The girl screamed, covering her face. Adrien grabbed her and pulled her down to the ground as all of the bottles and pipes burst. The water gathered and slammed through the wall. Everyone started to rush out of the room, one of the photographers quickly slamming the akuma alert button that was installed in every public room in the city.

Adrien let go of the girl, pushing her towards safety. Adrien looked through the gigantic hole in the wall, avoiding the water droplets and small pieces of debris falling. He looked down, seeing something in bright blue walking along the streets, water being absorbed around him. He turned over, seeing that he was alone and that everyone had evacuated. Adrien rushed over towards the rack of other outfits, pulling out his own sweater. He went into the pocket, pulling out his napping kwami. "Plagg, Plagg wake up."

"I just laid down Adrien, come on!" he cried.

"I know lazy bones." he said, running back towards the hole and looking back down.

Plagg moved over, holding onto his fingers and looking down below at the scene. He raised his eyebrow. "Uh... Adrien, is that your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" he repeated, looking down. His eyes widened, seeing a large bubble following him. And just as Plagg said, inside was Marinette. Even though the bubble didn't look like the average one and water was dripping from the top to the bottom like a fountain, he could see her inside. She was sopping wet and desperately trying to weasel her way free. Why would he have Marinette? "Plagg, we need to go. Now!"


	3. (Not So Much A) Damsel In Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir has to stop the akuma (alone) and save Marinette and Paris.
> 
> But this is just going to fan the flames

Marinette wiped some of the dripping water out of her eyes. Worry was filling in her chest quickly. She didn't expect for this to happen. Not a kidnapping at least. It has obviously reached a point that was ridiculous. And she was sure that it has only been a few days. She huffed, her hand instinctively moving to touch her earrings. Out of the pocket of her sweater popped out the little kwami. She looked down at her, biting her lip. Tikki patted her collar. "It's gonna be okay Marinette." she said in a low voice.

"But how am I supposed to stop him if I'm here in this water bubble." she asked as another puddle of water fell down on her head. She sputtered it out of her mouth and wiped it out of her eyes.

Tikki hummed in thought and agreement. "Don't worry. I'm positive that Chat Noir will come to save you. That's what he does as a superhero."

Marinette huffed. When she opened her mouth to answer, she saw the water bubble slowly start to deform around her. Marinette bit her lip worriedly. She fell down on her rump in a huff, the rest of the water falling down on her and her clothes. It felt like at this point she was attached to them already. She looked up, trying to find the akumatized man. The water was basically covering her eyes at this point, blurring her vision a bit. She couldn't make out where he was directly. He rubbed them again, getting rid of the stinging feeling. Slowly, it cleared. She looked over, seeing the light stone color of the bridge. Marinette slowly brought herself up to her feet, seeing the akumatized man in the middle of the bridge.

His arms were spread out wide, along with water arms that he had created alongside his real ones. A sneer came on his face as the water in the lake started to rise droplet by droplet. "You don't know what you have until it's gone. First your homes, now your lake!" he yelled. Marinette stumbled, her legs wobbly from sitting inside of that water bubble for so long. She tried to rush away from the bridge and from this situation. She barely made it a step before a large wave of water crashed her into the bridge's railing. It hit her back hard and she fell down onto her side. "And you aren't going anywhere! Once Chat Noir sees that I have you here, he'll have no choice but to give up his miraculous and the waters will no longer be polluted."

Marinette moved over to get back up, but another wave hit her, slamming her down from the back. It felt like for a split second that she was drowning as her cheek kissed the pavement. Her hands curled into fists. There was nothing at all that she could do to stop this from happening. And it almost felt the water was draining her energy. Marinette's eyes widened when she felt the rush of water come to a stop. She could finally breathe. She sat up, taking in gulps of fresh air. She turned over, seeing the man continue to pull water up from the lake into his large arms. Two more could not handle the mass of the liquid and instead, four arms emerged, making him look like some sort of insect. He smiled widely, the arms swinging around him. He moved one of them as a test, taking a hold of Marinette by the waist. He pulled her up and gripped her tightly. All of the water in that one arm felt like it was seemingly tightening around her middle.

He smiled, moving to gather the rest of the water around his arm. As one more started to grow from his back, a whistling sound moved through the air. It crashed through one of the arms, breaking the kind of spell that was holding the water together. The arm deflated and splashed onto the bridge and then back into the lake. The man growled in anger. "Well, this is certainly a waste of water." called the blonde.

"Chat." Marinette let out in a gasp.

"Don't even think of stopping me. I have a good cause! I am here to stop the pollution that you, the selfish human race, have caused to the beautiful oceans!" he yelled.

Chat rolled his eyes, jumping down from the roof he was on and landing a few feet in front of him, wanting to keep his distance. "There are other ways of solving the issue, this isn't one of them. Especially taking a hostage." he said, pointing the head of staff his way.

The man sneered, looking over at Marinette as she shivered and sputtered. "This isn't any hostage." he said. "It's your precious little lover girl."

"She's not my-" He was cut off. Slowly, the akuma moved the arm where she was trapped in and hovered it over the lake, where a large amount of water still was. Chat's eyes widened. "Hey! Let's not do something drastic here!"

"Then let us get on the same page. Give me your miraculous and convince your little partner to do so to. Then we both get what we want. You get your beauty safe, I get cleaner oceans, Hawkmoth gets whatever the hell he wants."

Chat looked over to him. His eyes was widening. He met Marinette's eyes. She looked so frustrated to be here in this situation. But more than that, scared of what comes next. He couldn't risk her life. Slowly, he pulled his stick in and placed it behind him. The akuma smiled at him. "Let her down." he said.

"Miraculous first." he stated, holding out his hand.

Chat inhaled sharply. His head turned instinctively behind him, looking for his partner. Wondering where she was. She had to of seen what was happening. She had to. Her pipes must of burst or been around the bursting pipes, or even the lake. Where could she be? He turned back over, looking at the man. He looked like he was getting very impatient that this point. He looked down at his ring. He needed to come up with some sort of plan. He looked back up at Marinette, desperate to try and find a way to save her first and stop this poor akumatized man. He moved over to stand right in front of him. "Y-You let her go first, so I'll be sure to hold up my end of the deal." he said. "Put her down first."

The man let out a chuckle. "If that is what it takes." he said, moving his arm down and setting Marinette down. She instantly pressed a hand against her chest. Chat quickly moved to his belt, pulling out his staff. He extended it below the man's ankle before kicking him in the chest. He cried out before falling down onto his back. He rushed over to Marinette's side, scooping her up into his arms. The man screamed in frustration, getting back up and turning to get a hit in to the leather clad hero. But the bridge was empty. Of both Chat and his only leverage. He grumbled, moving off of the bridge and jumping towards the lake. The water that made his arms moved back into the water, rushing up to a tall tower and holding him up in the air. Slowly, he pushed the water forward, levitating over it and searching for Chat.

Below the bridge is where he didn't look. Chat kept a tight grip on the young woman as he gripped his staff. It extended out, touching the edges of the bridge and holding him and her up. He huffed out a breath, turning his head to look over at Marinette. She was dripping wet and shivering. "Are you okay?"

Marinette bit her lip and nodded. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

Chat nodded. He didn't expect for a small article to result in this. Slowly, he maneuvered himself to the edge of the bridge, where he would grip the railing and pull himself and Marinette up. She instantly tried to stand. But her legs were wobbly from the wet boots, time in a bubble and overall time being a hostage. Chat rushed to her, holding her by the waist and steadying her. "Hang on, let me take you home." he said, pulling her back into his arms. He steadied his stick, jumping up into air and through the wide homes of Paris. He kept an eye opened up for the akuma as he moved. Slowly, he landed onto the roof across from the baker's house. "Do you still live here?"

She shook her head. "No. But you can leave me here. I'll be safe."

He nodded, jumping over and setting her down on her patio. "Stay inside and away from any kind of water. Get yourself dry and more importantly warm, okay?" he said to her.

She nodded. She moved over towards the skylight, then turning over to the hero. "Thank you Chat Noir." she said.

He smiled at her nodding. "Don't worry about it. Stay safe yeah?"

With that, he extended his staff and jumped away from the apartment building. Marinette watched him, looking at the determined look in his eyes. Marinette moved into the pocket of her sweater. "Are you okay Tikki?" she asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm alright. Now, hurry up before that man floods the city with his rage!"

Marinette nodded, moving towards her earrings.

* * *

"Bye bye little butterfly." She turned over towards the man on the bridge, gripping his temple and puking his guts out. That usually happened with akumatized victims. She walked over to him and knelt down in front of him. "Hey. Are you okay?"

The man nodded, slowly moving back onto his back. "W-What happened?" he asked.

"You were akumatized." she said to him with a smile. "You wanted to take all the water. Something about pollution. Good cause... just bad execution."

"Oh. I'm really sorry Ladybug!" he said. "I didn't hurt anyone did I?!"

"You kidnapped an innocent girl." Chat sneered from his spot. He was standing a couple feet behind his partner, his arms crossed as he looked out at the lake.

The man looked down, disappointed and angry with himself. "I... I didn't mean to! I didn't know what I was doing! Is she okay? Is he hurt?!"

"I'm sure that she's fine." Ladybug said back to him, looking up and seeing an ambulance start to come. "Come, let me get you to the ambulance."

"No, no, I can walk." he said. "I've caused enough trouble already. Thank you Ladybug. And... thank you Chat Noir."

He huffed in return, but gave him a curt nod. Ladybug turned on her heel and walked over to him. "Are you alright?"

"Perfect." he said back in a low and annoyed tone.

"Is it that girl that you're thinking about? Was she... was she badly injured while I wasn't here?" she asked him, pressing a hand against his forearm.

"No." he said, letting out a sigh. "At least I don't think so."

"Who was that girl?" she asked him, but the pads on his ring and the dots on her earrings started to blare. "Oh! Sorry but, I should go."

Chat nodded. He bowed to her with a smile. "See you next time then bugaboo."

"Don't call me bugaboo kitty." she said with a playful wink, spinning her yo yo and flying off through the streets. Quickly, she hid behind an alleyway. "Spots off."

Slowly, her powers and costume left her. She smiled at her little friend, whispering a promise of extra cookies and macaroons when the time came about. Quickly, she smoothed out her still damp sweater and rushed down the street. She could feel the wind on her ears and nose as she hurried back towards Sabrina's apartment. As she took a quick look around, she noticed that all of the buildings were back to normal and no water was dripping. She slammed her fist on the door of the apartment, making her seem as desperate as possible. The door opened almost immediately, and she was met with the emotional faces of Alya and Rose.

"Oh Mari!" they both cried in unison, holding her tightly so that she couldn't breathe. She chuckled for a second, hugging them back as best as she could with two arms around her.

"Guys, I'm alright. I'm fine." she said with a smile.

"We know." Alya said.

"We saw." Rose finished.

"Saw?" she said.

"My goodness, your clothes are still damp. Why did Chat Noir hide you and not give you dry clothes? Stupid cat. Hey, hey, come on, come on." Alya called, taking her hands and struggling up the steps. "Honey! Marinette is here!"

"Marinette!" cried the other voices above.

She moved back inside of the apartment, Alya shoving her towards the couch. Sabrina gasped, seeing her. She rushed over to her, no longer in her wedding dress. She hugged her tightly. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." she said. "Thank you for worrying, but I'm okay."

Damian walked over to her, a smile on his face as well that she was alright. He handed her a warm mug. "Here." he said.

"Thank you." she said. "Where's Max? Is he okay?"

"He's fine." he answered her with a smile.

She turned over, hearing a door opened. Kim walked out of it, walking into the living room. "Oh, Marinette! Are you alright?"

"She's fine man." Alya said. "I'm sure that she's annoyed hearing that over and over."

"But we have been worrying about you for hours." Rose interjected.

Marinette placed a hand on Kim's elbow. "Is Max alright?"

"Oh! Yeah, he's fine. He's just laying down. I pretty much begged him to." he said to her.

She nodded in understanding. "So, what did you guys mean when you said saw?"

"It was all over the news the second it happened." Nino answered her, rubbing Alya's shoulders.

Damian turned on the TV for her to see. She looked over, hearing the voice of Nadja Chamack, one of her mother's old friends and the woman she had been interviewed by many, many, many times. She was standing in front of the blue screen, pointing over at the video footage. "As you can see here, our news coppers were able to capture video of Chat Noir stopping the abduction of the criminal, who we believe called himself King Neptune. The hostage was none other than the lady from the tabloids and rumors, Marinette Dupian-Cheng. Police think that King Neptune kidnapped her off the basis of the dating rumors between her and Chat Noir. Could the rumors be true then if the black knight rushed in to save his princess?"

"Are you kidding me?" Marinette whispered to herself, her head falling down in her lap.


	4. Apologies and Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Marinette had been saved from the King Neptune situation, the media truly believes that she and Chat are dating. Laying low is starting to get even more difficult. Especially when her friends are starting to believe the rumors too.
> 
> And as for Adrien, he really did not want this to escalate as far as it went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it has been over three months since I updated this story. I know. Before you ask, I'm not abandoning it. I love this story so very much. However, stuff happened in my life that I just couldn't really walk away from. If you want to know about it, there is still an author's not available for it in my prompt fill fic Bring Us Together.
> 
> But I am back, I am decent and I am ready to post my Marichat! Enjoy! 🖤

Adrien groaned, slamming his forehead against the wall inside of his bedroom like there was something stuck on his hair. Plagg sat down on his desk, watching him do the same thing for almost six full minutes. The little creature rolled his eyes. The banging sound was getting annoying. "Adrien." he called in another groan. "You're gonna lose brain cells doing that."

"I'm aware." he replied, turning his head away and walking over to the tiny magic creature. There was going to be a bruise there tomorrow morning and no one was going to be happy about that. "You would think that the news would see me rescuing Marinette for what it really is. Me saving her from dying or getting hurt!"

"You know how slow the news is." Plagg added. "They were just looking for a story and get some more clicks or people in front of the screen. I'm sure that-"

"Before you even say it Plagg, this isn't going to go away. It was this close to going away until I had to save her." Adrien said to him, slamming down onto the couch face first. Plagg huffed, flying over to him and patting his head with his tiny hand. "What can I do to make it all stop?"

"Speak with the news?" he suggested rolling down the side of his head like it was a slide and landing on his hand

"What good will that do?" Adrien asked, looking up at him.

"You, the superhero that they are talking about, speaks up, to tell the truth. Yeah. Who would believe that. Can't put my finger on it."

"You don't have fingers."

"That's the point. I was being sarcastic."

Adrien hummed, thinking about that what he said. That could be a good option. Maybe if he got the attention of one of the city reporters, he could clear everything up. Marinette would be safe then, from people and media. And she could go back to no kidnappings and living her normal life. "That could work actually." he said

"Shocker." Plagg said. "I get it right."

Adrien chuckled at him, patting his small belly. "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

"You know, I think that this is not a bad thing." Alya called, slapping a shipping label on one of the small boxes.

"How is this not a bad thing? I was literally kidnapped! And almost drowned!" Marinette called from her spot at her desk, turning her chair in a complete 180 spin.

"That's not what I mean. I'm glad that you're safe for one. But what I mean is that that there is a part of this that is not as bad as you think." she said.

"How so?"

"You've gotten hundreds of orders since the rescue!"

"Yeah, more work for me." Marinette said to her, not even hiding the sarcasm. "Now I'm sold out of everything."

"That's a good thing. Gives you time to finally stock up and capitalize on your brand."

"I am not making an entire Chat collection, stop asking."

"I'm just saying, this is money coming your way! That would get more money in the bank account girl."

"I could literally care less about the money at this point Alya. I wish I had my privacy and safety back." she said to her, moving over to her friend and laying down on her lap. "All done?"

"Yeah." Alya said. "There's only just one order that we can't fulfill because we sold out of her dress while shipping."

"Okay. That's fine. How many more products do I need to make this collection last?" Marinette asked, picking up her notebook.

"You'll need about 20 of each size and each item. I think that your costumers will understand the wait since you make everything with love." Alya said, stretching out her feet and rubbing her big belly.

"How are the babies?" Marinette asked, trying to change the subject.

"They're fine. I'll be off of my feet in the next few days and finally, I'll be meeting my two little girls." she said with a smile.

Marinette grinned. "Is Nino excited?"

"Nino can't keep his mouth shut about it. And he is so overprotective over me." she said, slowly looking back over at her friend. "You know... this might sound annoying and that I'm trying to shift the conversation. But the reason that we are so excited about this is whole situation is because we really want you to be happy."

"I am happy." Marinette said. "At least I was before this all happened."

"We know you're happy. But we think that you deserve someone in your life that makes you happy too. Even though we aren't sure who Chat really is, if you two really were together and felt something, you can-"

"Alya..." Marinette called.

She sighed. "Sorry. It's just after high school and dropping out of university, you've been alone. You deserve to have someone care for you. You've been working so hard. I think that a treat in the shape of long blonde locks and black leather isn't so bad."

Marinette chuckled. "You know that that sounds really suggestive."

"I have no regrets girl." she said back, the two falling into a fit of happy laughter.

"I get where you're coming from Alya, but I just... I don't want someone. I'm fine where I am right now in this moment." she said, smiling.

* * *

The day dwindled on like that and the sun eventually set. Nino came to pick Alya up and Marinette was left at home. It soon turned from a cool day to a beautiful warm night in Paris. But Marinette couldn't find any comfort underneath her covers. She pulled on a hoodie, grabbed her blanket and moved out onto her balcony. It was small, not at all like the huge skylight that she had at her parents' house. But it was comfortable. She was able to lean against the railing and admire the beautiful sight that was Paris, France. She leaned her elbows on the thin metal railing, watching the way the cars and bikes drove past. The lights on in the buildings around her became her own private little LEDs. She hummed, admiring the view. She turned over to go inside and grab her phone to play music. As she turned over to the door, something jumped up from above her. "Hello."

Marinette instantly screamed in shock. Jumping back onto one foot and pressing her back against the railing. The blanket around her shoulders fell down. Chat's eyes widened. He cursed at himself. Why didn't he just tap on her window like a normal person instead being strange? He jumped down onto the small balcony, pushing himself into the doorway and held his hands out to her. "Don't be alarmed! Don't scream! Please don't scream." he called, waving at her. Marinette eyed him up and down, staying in her shocked and scared position. But she visibly calmed down, seeing that he wasn't a criminal. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry."

"Y-You." she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." he said. "Uh... would you let me?"

Marinette eyed him up and down. He had changed a lot since they had first met. His hair a bit longer than before and pretty much as tall as a tree. Marinette moved away from the balcony and nodded. She was so much shorter compared to him. Even as Ladybug she was sure that she had a wedge that made her a bit taller. "W-We should probably go inside then."

Chat nodded. He stepped back and moved out of her way, allowing Marinette to enter her own studio. Chat looked out, doing his best to make sure that no one was watching him. He slid the door closed and then turned over to Marinette. "I'm sorry about the blanket." he said. "I can get you another-"

He found himself silenced. He had been in Marinette's room once before. Back when they were in high school. But for sure he knew that he hadn't been in Marinette's apartment before as Adrien. Not once. And now that he was here and thinking about it, he probably had seen Marinette once or twice since he went to college. He had barely checked in on her. But he had no idea how busy she was. He looked over, seeing three mannequins resting on the ground. One had a beautiful dress on it, jam-packed with sparkles, diamonds and sequins. The other looked like some kind of mock up of a pair of pants. High waisted with beautiful shimmery pink fabric. The third was completely empty expected for a necklace on it's neck. Marinette turned over, noticing his silence. He was looking at her pieces in awe. "Do you like them?" she said before she could stop herself.

"They're beautiful." he said, moving one of his claws to touch it. But he didn't press it hard against it. He did not want to break it. He just rested it against his palm and rubbed his claw against it gently. "This is amazing work."

"Thank you." she said, moving over and sitting down on her bed. It wasn't really a real bed. It was just a large mattress laying on the ground with her bedding spread out against it. Chat noticed that there was no bed frame. He bit his lip. "So... what did you want to talk about?"

"About all of this." he said, turning over to her. "Look, I know that this is probably annoying and really scary and I wanted to apologize to you."

"Well none of this is entirely your fault." Marinette said to him, moving some hair out of her eyes. "This is just the news and tabloids blowing this way out of proportion. If anything, this is annoying and scary for the both of us."

"I know. I know. But I can't imagine what it was like for you. That night you were taken you must have been... Speaking of, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Nothing warm tea and a couple of blankets can't fix." she said, getting up. "Would you like a cup by the way?"

Chat was going to say no. He wanted to just say hello to her, apologize and quickly slip away. But for some reason, it was calming inside of her room. Inside of this atmosphere. And he wanted to talk to Marinette more. He wanted to continue. "Uh... that would be lovely. Thank you." he said. Marinette nodded, slowly moving to the small space she used as a kitchen. "Do you live here?"

"No." she said. "Well... yeah but... but no. I moved out of my parents house a long time ago for college. But I couldn't afford to stay there. School or dorm. I bought this place originally for my business only, which is why it's so small. But I pretty much had to stay here since."

Chat Noir eyed the place. It was big don't get him wrong. But not big enough to live in. It was practically a nice box with a bathroom. He hummed. "Why don't you just move back in with your folks?" he asked.

"I would, but I just need my own space. You know? I'm at that age." she replied, picking up the mugs and handing one to the superhero. Chat smiled, nodding gratefully at her. Slowly, she sat back down on the bed. Chat sipped the tea, slowly turning over towards the shelves that were pressed up against the walls.

"What are these?" he asked.

"All of my packaging." she answered.

"Packaging?" he repeated.

"For my business." Marinette said. "Actually, it's because of this whole thing that my store sold out. So I should be thanking you in some sort of way."

"This situation doesn't call for thanks." he said. "But I'm glad that your store is popular. And that you're successful."

Marinette nodded, thankful for his compliment. "So... back to this whole couple thing."

Chat's cheeks turned pink hearing her say that. "Right! Right, couple! Yeah." he said. "Look, I'm in the process of going to speak with Nadja and the news. I was thinking of doing an interview. That way, people will leave you alone, the tabloids will be out of your hair and you could back to your normal everyday life."

Marinette was actually shocked by this. She didn't think that Chat would do something like this. But he was always kind to her as Ladybug and their small encounters as herself. She knew that he would solve this issue. "Thank you." she said, a smile forming on her lips. She moved over, hugging him.

He was shoved back a bit, but stilled. Marinette was so small. Her head came up to his chest as they hugged. Why was she hugging him? What could the reasoning be? But then he remembered. Marinette on her own was just such a sweet girl. He remembered their high school days and her never-changing need to help and comfort others. Chat hugged her back gently. It was about time that someone did something nice for her. She deserved it. "You don't have to thank me princess." he said, the nickname slipping from his lips unconsciously. He didn't even notice it.

Marinette pulled away from him, moving back to her bed. She picked back up her tea and sat down on the bed. Chat smiled at her, moving over to her and sitting down next to her. They fell into silence. But it wasn't awkward. For some reason, it was comforting. The night continued on from that point on. The two of them just sipping tea and falling into a calm and comforting conversation. And for a second, it didn't feel like they were superhero and civilian. It was just them together for the night. A very wonderful feeling.


	5. The Fairy Tale Love Story She Deserves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Chat's visit, Marinette feels a little better about the situation before her. And she notices that the attention has died down a bit with her.
> 
> Expect for one person...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for not really updating this story. But I have other stories that I'm working on along with online school 🥺
> 
> Please bare with me. But enjoy regardless 😚💜

Chat's words had brought a sense of calm to Marinette's ever imploding world. It no longer felt so worrisome now. Marinette felt a bit... comfortable with the situation now. But not too comfortable. Because she knew in a couple of minutes she would be free of the chains of being Chat Noir's rumored girl friend. It had only been twelve hours since the conversation, but she felt better. It was visible in the way that she worked. Making shirts like it was nothing. Shipping out her custom dresses. Putting her jewelry on her website. She was so happy and felt so much better about everything. So much so that she even left her box like apartment with Max, Rose and Sabrina without putting up a fight. Just happy to out and wanting to spend time with her friends. And the three didn't complain. They loved Marinette and loved to spend time with her and was happy to see her happy with this situation. "I'm glad that you took the time out." Sabrina said. "Especially after... you know. Last time."

"That's not your fault." Marinette said to them, opening the door for them to enter.

"I know. But I still feel bad." she said to her, adjusting the collar of her sweater.

Marinette moved towards the racks filled with jewels, appliques and crystals. She admired them with a smile. "So... silver or gold?" she asked, turning over to the bride to be.

Sabrina sighed, moving over and placing a hand on one of the crystals. Max admired the beauty of one of the fabrics, Rose standing right beside him. "Oh these are so beautiful!" the short girl cried.

Marinette looked up at the color, admiring the pinky color. "It is." she said, turning back to Sabrina. "This one?"

"Yeah, I love it." she said.

"What are you going to wear to the wedding?" Max asked.

Marinette shrugged. Rose's eyes lit up with a wide smile. "Oh!" she cried. "You should make something then. Something like this." she said, holding up a roll of a beautiful baby pink fabric.

Marinette sighed. "It is gorgeous." she said, falling deeply in love with it.

"Pink! Your favorite color. You'd look like a beautiful princess." she said. "The perfect princess for Chat Noir!"

Max let out an exhale, slapping a palm onto his face. Marinette sighed, a smile still on her face. She know how much of a hopeless romantic the little blonde was. "Rose." she called, patting her shoulder. "I already told you. There is nothing going with me and Chat Noir."

"She's already said that." Sabrina said nodding. She took the applique from her and smiled. "I'm gonna go pay for this."

Marinette nodded at her.

"I know that you say that, but I can see past that! You two are made for each other." she cried, turning over to Max. "You saw the way that he looked at her when he saved her from that Neptune guy."

"I saw it." Max said, pushing his glasses back in place. "But that is just him saving her. He just wanted to protect her. That doesn't automatically mean romance."

"Thank you Max." Marinette said to him. "Rose, Chat saves people all the time. I just so happened to be there in the moment."

"Looking so pretty." Max said, pushing her slightly with his own hip. Making Marinette chuckle from the ticklish feeling.

Rose pouted her lip, but gave her friend a smile and wink. "No... I know it. Deep down, that black kitty is enamored with you. Like a knight and his princess!" she said, clapping her hands together. "It's like a story from a huge book! He's been in love with you forever but you are a princess meant for greatness. The only thing keeping you apart is a big bad villain. Like Hawkmoth and his akumas! Right Max?"

Max sighed, telling himself that there was no way to get through to her. Marinette chuckled, knowing how her friend believed in science and literally anything else than fairy tales. "Rose, take it from me. Chat Noir and I are not together. And besides, I don't need a prince in my life right now. I am quite happy working on myself and my business. And that's fine by me."

"But don't you think that you deserve for someone to take care of you after so long? Someone to love you?" Rose asked.

Marinette didn't respond to that. Because she hasn't really thought of that. But lucky for her, Sabrina returned, handing Marinette the paper bag. "All done!"

"Great." Max said, feeding into changing the subject.

She nodded as well."Can not wait to start working on it." Marinette added.

"So, how's lunch sound to you guys?" she said, feeling the tension when Rose kept her pout.

"Lunch sounds good." Max said in agreement, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulders. "You pick madam."

Marinette chuckled, she turned over to Rose. "You coming?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. I think I'm just going to pick up something here." she said.

"Oh. Okay." Sabrina said.

"I'll meet you guys in a second. Don't worry, I'll be quick." Rose said, moving over to the cash register. But she was digging her fingernails inside of her palms.

She knew deep down that Marinette and Chat Noir were meant to be. Chat was everything good for Marinette. He was strong, caring, funny and protective. Like a knight outside of a classic storybook. And Marinette deserved a man like him in her life. She was so kind and put everyone, friends or customers or even strangers, first. Having someone like him to love her dearly. Protect her and treat her like a queen is what she deserved. She knew that was what Chat Noir was for her. Rose felt her heart start to get really hot and her version blurred as she heard a voice in her head.

* * *

"So where should we go to eat?" Marinette asked.

"All up to future wife over here." Max joked.

Their conversation was cut short as there was a giant crash from behind them. Sabrina screamed in shock, seeing debris start to fall down on them. Max grabbed the two ladies hands and pulled them away from the scene of the crash. Marinette looked around, seeing everyone close start to run. She looked around, trying to see the underlying cause of the explosion. But the bricks and debris did not stay on the ground long enough for her to investigate. Slowly, they moved off of the ground, levitating.

Sabrina gasped, seeing it move like it was nothing. The bricks and small pebbles moved together into a ball. And slowly, it looked like it melted together. The red of the bricks and grey of the rocks went away and turned into a sky blue color. Slowly, a door formed along with wheels at the bottom. "A carriage?" Marinette whispered.

Max turned over to the gaping hole in the wall of the store. "Oh my God! Rose!?!"

The two turned over, seeing what Max was taking about. In mid air was Rose. But not their rose. Her short blonde hair was now dark black and pulled up in a tight bun. The never ending pink that was her clothes were no more. A long beige trench coat was on her body, hanging at the bottom was dark purple. Almost as if it was dipped in paint. She turned to them, a dark mask against her face dripped down to her nose like smoky makeup. "Rose, oh my God!" Sabrina yelled.

"I am not Rose! I am The Narrator! I am telling the story that I know to be true!" she cried, turning over and noticing the fabric's store employees desperately trying to escape their crumbling building. "First things first, I'll need some knights."

She moved her hand over towards her chest. The necklace hanging there glowed and shot out a bright light. All the innocent people desperately trying to leave were hit with it. Their right red polo shirts and jeans changed along with themselves as a whole. Marinette's eyes widened seeing them start to change into actual knights. Silver armor. Silver helmets. Blades, bows and staffs. Sabrina screamed in fear, moving into Max's arms. Max took Marinette's hand. "Come on, we gotta go." she said to them. "Now!"

"Now we start the story." Narrator called. "Once upon a time there was a kindhearted and selfless princess named Marinette. Ever so kind, ever so lovely. Putting everyone else first."

She moved over towards her pointing her necklace in her direction. Max's eyes widened, grabbing her and trying to pull her away. But the recently turned knights ran over to them and yanked them away from Marinette entirely. Pushing them away and holding the blades of their spears to their necks. Max moved in front of his friend to protect her as she screamed. The light hit Marinette as she turned over to try and help her friends. She fell to the ground as the light blinded her. It slowly went away as she noticed her simple leggings and sweater were gone. Instead, a long bright red gown was on her body. One that looked like a wedding dress. Maybe even bigger. Narrator looked at her and smiled so wide, admiring her friend's beautiful. "Rose, what the hell?" Marinette called, slowly getting up.

"I am not Rose!" she yelled, stomping her foot into the air. She straightened out and took in a deep breath. "But one day, the princess was unexpectedly kidnapped by a wicked force. Knights, seize the princess!"

Marinette's eyes widened, seeing the knights slowly start to approach her. She pulled herself up, trying to turn and sprint away. But she fell back down onto the ground. She pulled away some of her skirt and saw that she was in high heels. Her sneakers gone.

She was basically immobile as a damn princess..

The knights grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up to her feet but keeping her still in their hold. "Hey!" Max cried out, other yelling out with him.

"Rose, no!" Sabrina cries out, stepping forward.

The two were silenced as the other knights pointed their weapons at him and the other spectators. Marinette struggled as much as possible in their hold as they pulled her towards the carriage and unceremoniously threw her inside. Narrator laughed, floating down onto the top of the carriage as she locked the door. "Let us go my knights! We have to get in contact with a certain black knight."

* * *

Chat inhaled, slowly moving inside of the wide studio. He had been inside of here many times before. Whenever there was an akuma that was attacking or he had been Adrien here for interviews on his poems. He had barely been here as Chat for something that didn't involve danger. But here he was. Doing good and just dousing the flames with water. Putting them out so that Marinette would be left alone. He waved at the crowd of people around him, who were asking for autographs and pictures. He politely declined, as he was a man on a mission. A small little PA walked over to him, greeted him and helped him through the crowd. "We apologize." he said to Chat. "I guess that I news got out that you were here. Nadja wanted this to be a very private affair. Apologies on our part."

"It's not a problem. I understand how much my adoring fans would want to see me." he said, putting on the cocky attitude and running a hand through his hair.

The man nodded, turning over and picking up a small paper from his clipboard. "Okay, you'll be on for the interview for about like... fifteen or ten minutes. But we have another person here with a new podcast if the interview is shorter than expected."

"Ten minutes is all I need. Thanks." he said with a grin.

The PA opened the door to the studio and walked him over towards the edge. Nadja was sitting comfortably in her chair, going over her small notes. The PA nodded at Chat. He slowly walked in with a smile. Nadja grinned, standing up. "Chat Noir. Thank you so much for contacting me. Happy to have you here."

"Thank you so much for having me." he said, sitting down in the chair across from her and shaking her hand.

"So, I know that you had some important things that you wanted to say here." she said to him with a smile.

"I did. So, I understand that there has been a situation here in Paris. With me saving this young girl. And there have been articles, videos, tabloids and everything in between about the situation. But I wanted to address it head on, since I am apart of this situation." he said. "First of-"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud static sound that shocked everyone inside of the room. Chat moved and covered his ears. He looked up, trying to find out what was happening. He saw the viewfinder in the corner of the room. The bright colored blocks showed instead of the filming interview. He stood up, looking over as the blocks changed and the sound stopped. He saw someone in the middle of the screen. Dark hair tied up in a bun. Dark smoky makeup like mask on her eyes. "Hello Paris! Allow me to introduce myself to you. I am The Narrator and I am here to tell you a story."

"Oh my God." Chat heard some people behind the cameras.

"Is that an akuma?" someone else said.

"Rose?" he whispered, recgonizing the small girls face and her bright eyes anywhere. Chat kept his eye on the screen, trying to find out where she could be. But behind her was completely black.

"Once upon a time there was a kindhearted and selfless princess named Marinette."

"Oh my God..." Chat gasped.

"Ever so kind, ever so lovely. The princess spent her days putting everyone else first. But one day, the princess was unexpectedly kidnapped by a wicked force. Knights under the control of a dark and wicked wizard took her from her castle and has locked her away."

The screen turned back to the colored blocks for a solid second then changed. Chat looked over at the camera that panned over the Eiffel tower. It was completely surrounded by knights, holding swords, staffs, shields and spears. But the camera panned to the top and that is where he saw Marinette. "Shit." he gasped. She was at the top of the tower. The railings that used to cover the edge for the tourists were now gone. And Marinette was stuck gripping the walls behind her. The wind blew up behind her, waving around the bright red gown that she was in.

"The precious princess is now in danger, being held dangerous by her captors. No way down on her own. The only option she has now is her one true love. Her black knight. Chat Noir, you need to come and save your princess. Come hand over your miraculous and reveal yourself to your one true love." she said, before the screen went blank.

"I have to go." he said instantly, taking off into a sprint in an instant, moving out of the studio. He hurried towards the nearest window and jumped out as fast as possible, pulling out his staff as he flew through the air. "God, not again. Please be alright Mari."


	6. There May Be Something There That Wasn't There Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Ladybug go on to stop The Narrator, as she still wants her princess and knight to be together. But it is what comes afterwards that stays with the two the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it has been a couple of months. I'm sorry. But I'll try and update more of this story! I promise.
> 
> Just to sum it all up, school work took top priority for me. So I put this account to the side. But I'm back now, no worries. I'm here. Hope that you enjoy 😊💕

This day was not at all going how she expected it to. She was just going to finally take a break. One that was pretty well deserved. Celebrate the fact that people would **finally** leave her alone because of Chat. But no. Never a dull moment in her life though. Now, one of her sweetest and closest friends had been akumatized. To take a look on the bright side, at least she wasn't upset or angry. Rose all along just wanted her to be happy. But holding onto the railing of the Eiffel tower was not something that she at all was happy about. Or would cause her happiness. She screamed, feeling the strong winds around her and blowing on her dress. She felt like a leaf on the edge of a thick branch. One good swift and she would be done for. Marinette gripped the bars tighter, trying her best to not look down. "Marinette, you can transform now." she heard from below her.

She was surprised that Tikki had managed to keep up and follow her. She knew that Tikki was brave, but this was a whole new level. "I can't. Rose is still watching me." she said back in a whisper. "Unfortunately... I need to wait here."

"Well, well, well. Look who it is? Could it be? It is! It is our black knight! Chat Noir!" Marinette heard the voice of Narrator cry, her voice booming all over.

"Chat?" she repeated. Almost shocked.

Tikki quickly flew up from in between her bosom, gripping her cheeks. "Don't look down Marinette!" she cried. "You just need to sit back and wait!"

Marinette nodded. Below the Eiffel tower, Narrator was correct. Chat jumped down from one of the buildings, gripping his staff. The knights at the front of the city's landmark slammed their weapons onto the ground into a synchronized motion. He gripped it tighter. "Narrator!" he cried. "We have to talk!"

"No!" she cried, moving towards him. She was quick to get in his face, knowing that he wouldn't touch her without causing harm to Marinette. "The characters don't ever speak to the Narrator. They don't even know that she, he or they exist."

"Well I'm sorry but this story is coming to an end right here and right now." he said, expanding his staff. As soon as he did that, the knights brandished their weapons. The tips of the swords and spears were pointed at his necks while the bowmen kept a keen eye on him, ready to release a sharp arrow. Each blade seemed to glisten, even though it was a cloudy day in Paris. Chat hissed, slowly lowering it and pointing a firm finger at his foe. "Let Marinette go."

"Marinette? I don't know a Marinette."

"Come on..."

"Marinette, Marinette, Mari- oh! Oh! You mean your princess?"

"She is not my...you know what, nevermind. Just let her down from there. Right now."

"You think that you can cheat the system? Sorry, black knight. But that's not how this works. You have to go up and rescue her. Protect her from her fate. But.. if you really want to skip all the hard work and save her with a snap of my fingers, I think that we can most definitely make a deal." she said, floating down onto the ground. "Hand over your miraculous and I will have my knights safely escort down your princess into your waiting arms."

Chat hissed. "I am not handing over my miraculous." he said.

Narrator hummed, moving back into the air. "A shame really. You wouldn't even do that for the woman you love." she said, turning over and placing her hand on her necklace. Chat watched as a light pulsed through it and hit the tower. He instantly moved forward, afraid that she was intending to harm Marinette. The knights moved instantly, grabbing him and retching his arms behind his back.

"No!" he cried as they pushed him down onto his knees. He watched as the light moved, forming the tower into something entirely new. He let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the tower did not collapse. But it was no longer a tower. The steel that created the historic monument was now cobblestone. It was now a tall stone tower. Like in Rapunzel. Marinette was no longer desperately hanging on. She was now inside of a small room, looking through the barred window. But the superhero couldn't held up gasp, seeing the fear in her eyes. Chat gave another tug, but the knights held him still.

Narrator let out an excited laugh, looking at what she had done. "Now the story really begins. And you know what to do. Knights? Seize the black knight and his miraculous!"

One of the knights gripping his wrists went over towards his ring. He hissed, moving himself up so that he was on one knee. The knights fell down from the swift and almost unknowing turn. Chat quickly, jumped back up to his feet, the hands moving off of him. He grabbed his staff and held it out to the knights. He hissed, looking around him. "Ladybug, where are you?" he whispered. He turned back to the silver armored men. "Listen guys, this is the last warning. Take a step back if you don't want to get hurt." They didn't listen. "Okay then."

He extended the stick as much as possible and slammed it hard against their armored chests. They all fell down, their weapons falling along with them. Chat quickly took of in a sprint, swinging at the others charging towards him. He looked up, seeing the tower in front of him. He quickly jumped up, extending the claws he had and dug them into the stone. He heard the cries of the knights of frustration. He laughed at them. Slowly, he pulled himself up to the window. Meeting eyes with the terrified bluenette. He was already out of breath, but completely forgot about it seeing Marinette like this. The red dress was gorgeous on her frame, and her short hair was now in a long braid behind her. The princess look completely finished with a red and white rose flower crown. She was beautiful. Chat licked his lips. It was like meeting your angel after death. He cleared his throat, remembering why he was here in front of her. He pressed a hand to the bars, giving her a reassuring nod.

He moved one hand away, going to call out for his cataclysm. But a sharp pain came in his side in the middle of the sort of battle cry. He cried out, his grip slipping from the bars. Marinette's eyes widened, seeing a small, triangel sized blade press up from his costume. "Chat!" she cried, moving out and gripping his hand as he almost fell. She grabbed his wrist, pushing herself against the wall to hold tightly.

Chat's eyes widened, looking up. Scared that she might have grabbed the wrong hand. That he might have hurt her with his one power. He sighed, seeing her gripping his other hand. He pushed himself up as more arrows flew, resting on the small rocks in front of the window before squeezing through the bars. He fell on the floor with a loud _ow_ , moving over to look at what impaled him. It was an arrow. He hissed. He had forgotten about those bowmen. He turned over to Marinette. "Are you okay?" he called.

Marinette was kind of off-put by the question. Everything was going wrong today. Of course she was not okay. But she nodded at him. "I'm fine."

"Good." he said, standing up. His eyes widened, seeing an incoming weapon. "Watch out Mari!" he yelled, shoving her aside as the arrow flew through the bars and hit him again. Marinette cried out in shock, grabbing him and pulling him away from the window. Back and deeper inside of the small, empty room.

She knelt down beside him and eyed the two wounds. The one in his back was still the there, but the one that just hit had hit his collarbone was faster. Lodged deeper inside of the skin. Signalling it was as serious as she had thought. She gripped one of the arrows, looking at it. "The one in your back isn't as deep. I'm gonna pull it out, okay?"

Chat nodded her way, biting his lip. Marinette gripped the arrow and pulled it out. He didn't scream, as it wasn't impaled much into his skin. The one in his collarbone was the issue. Slowly, she pulled it through the skin. Quickly, through the screams of the hero, she ripped the train from her gown and quickly wrapped it around his bleeding skin. Chat nodded, slowly looking up at her. "Thanks." he whispered.

"You're welcome." she said back.

"Are you hurt at all?" he asked.

"No. No. Just annoyed if I am being honest with you."

"Okay. I'm glad." he said, slowly getting back up. He looked through the bars, seeing the knights still trying to get to him. He hissed once more.

"Wait! You're hurt!" she cried. "Please, lay down. Take a moment I-"

"I need to get you out of here. I'll be fine. Nothing I can't handle." he said, extending a hand to her. Marinette was hesitant, seeing the small droplets of blood on his uniform, but nodded nonetheless and took it. Chat pulled her closer, so her chest was pressed to his , making sure that she had a tight grip around upper body. He moved his hand, that still held the cataclysm to the wall opposite the window. The cobblestones turned black and fell, creating a giant hole. He held Marinette by the waist now and inhaled. He took his staff and rushed out of the room.

Marinette pressed her face into his neck, feeling the rush of the wind once more. Chat extended the stick so that it pressed up against the wall and helped them slide down with ease. Slowly, they met the ground. Marinette turned away from him, shoving him back, curling over and throwing up all over the ground. Chat jumped and cursed, seeing her like this. She had been through a lot today. Being kidnapped, standing at the top of the tower with no railing for God knows how long, being in a tower and now his less than daring rescue. Her poor little stomach. He moved over, pressing a soothing hand to her back and pulling her braid away. "It's okay, just breathe." he whispered.

Marinette nodded, wiping her wrist against her lips once she stopped puking and started dry heaving. "I'm okay." she said before hiccuping.

"We need to get you somewhere safe." he said. Just as he spoke, he heard the yells of the knights. He held out his staff, biting back a hiss from the pain coming from his wrapped shoulder. "No time for that now. Marinette, run. As fast as you can."

"What about you?" she asked him.

"Don't worry about me." he said, hearing the beeping from his ring and seeing one of the neon pads disappear. "I'll be fine."

"But your ring-"

"Princess, do not worry about me right now. I doesn't matter. I'll be fine. Now listen to me and run. As fast as you can. There's a diner a couple blocks down. Go in there and call the police. Call an ambulance. Someone in there will help you, hopefully."

Marinette looked at the desperate glance in his eyes. She knelt down, yanking off her heels, pulling up her dress and immediately running off in the opposite direction. Chat nodded her way, turning over to the knights as they surrounded him. _Be safe princess._

Chat watched as Marinette ran as best as she could away from the scene. The dress flowing around her. He let out a breath. The story that The Narrator told was very true. Marinette was the kindest young woman. A beautiful princess inside and out. And now she was put in danger because of him. Slowly, he turned over to the knights as they started to surround him. He hissed, feeling the pain in his back started to radiate across his skin. He turned around, looking over for his partner. "Where are you Ladybug?" he whispered, standing his ground.

He watched as the knights surrounded him in a circle. He looked up, hearing an angry growl. The Narrator slowly floated toward him. "You really don't like following the rules now do you?!" she yelled. "Where is the princess?!"

"She's on her way to safety." Chat called.

She growled, stomping her foot in the air. She slowly turned over, noticing some abandoned cars from the situation happening. She held her necklace and pointed it at them. Chat watched as the cars turned bright blue and morphed before him into black and brown stallions. Four of the knights rushed over and hopped onto their saddles. "Go on knights, find the princess and bring her back here!"

The knights snapped on the reins of the horses and took off in almost impossible speed. "No!" Chat screamed, moving over to chase them. But the blades moved back toward his neck, forcing him to step back.

"Oh please Chat Noir. You're about to change back! You won't be able to stop me now." she pointed out, pointing to his ring. 

He looked down, noticing that three of his pads were already gone. He cursed, looking out towards where Marinette had just run off too. He couldn't help her if he was in the middle of transforming back. He turned back over towards Narrator, hissing at her. "This is not over. Far from it!" he said, extending his stick into the air and pointing it at her. "I'll be back for you."

"Stop standing around and go get him!" she yelled as he hopped onto the roof of a building. He inhaled, running from roof to roof to get away from the following knights. As quickly as possible, he dropped down into an alleyway, inside of one of the dumpsters. He stayed as still as possible as he heard the knight's battle cry pass him and become faint silence. He felt like he was holding his breath as they passed him, not wanting them to discover him.

After almost two minutes, that inventiably felt like hours, he finally took in a deep breath. He pressed a hand to his shoulder. "Plagg, claws out." he called.

His costume slowly pulled off of his body. The tiny kwami spun out of his chest and slowly fell down onto the model's thigh. Adrien frowned, seeing his exhausted he looked and turned over to him. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine." he said, slowly pulling himself off of Adrien's thigh as he begun getting out of the dumpster. The sweater that he had been in now had a hole in it too. This is one of the first times he had gotten a bad wound outside of costumes. But it wasn't as bad as it felt. He picked up the cloth from Marinette's gown that had fallen during his detransformation. He couldn't help but smile, thinking about how Marinette desperately tried to cover the wound. _Sweet Mari_ , he thought. _She never changed_. He quickly pressed it against his wound and tied it underneath his clothes. Plagg couldn't help biting down on his lip seeing Adrien's blood. "Adrien, are you sure you shouldn't take a break?"

"I'll go to urgent care once this is all done." Adrien answered. "I'm sorry, but Marinette is more important right now. Come on, we need to get you some food."

"I'll be fine with some water."

"You? Water?"

"This is an urgent situation, work with me here!"

Adrien chuckled at the little one, moving him into the pocket of his sweater. He turned the corner, moving inside of one of the small stores nearby. He pulled off a small package of camembert from the shelf and fed it to his tiny friend, whispering a thank you since that there was no one else around currently. The little creature ate as fast as he could, watching as Adrien kept his back pressed up against the wall. The black cat like kwami slapped his belly happily, signaling that he was done and full. Adrien shoved the rest of the cheese inside of his pocket and cried out for his powers. He inhaled once his powers and costume came to him. He quickly sprinted out, keeping an eye out for the knights. The streets were clear of people, probably because of all of the fighting. He inhaled, looking for the princess as fast as he could. He hoped that she wasn't hurt in any way. He quickly jumped out onto the roof of the closest building, keeping an eye out for any sort of red flare. Quickly, he jumped from building to building. He looked over towards the Eiffel tower, now the transformed tower that held the bluenette hostage, seeing if that was Narrator's hideaway. His eyes widened, hearing the sound of a scream. Chat gripped his staff and jumped down towards the source of the scream. He brandished his weapon, seeing the knight's horses advancing. He jumped up the roof again, rushing over and landing in front of the knights. He turned over, quickly noticing who they were surrounding. Marinette. He growled. "Stay back!" he yelled, swinging the stick and hitting the knights on their side. They yelled in unison, falling off of their saddles. 

Chat turned over quickly towards the beautiful young woman. She was holding a broken beer bottle and shaking like a leaf. Marinette dropped the bottle, seeing it was her partner. "Chat!" she cried out, rushing over to him without a sort of second thought. She hugged him tightly, gripping his neck. His eyes widened and he stilled.

His hands didn't move for a moment. Slowly... he hugged her back. "Are you okay?"

"I was so scared." she said.

"D-Don't worry. I'm here." he said. The two jumped slightly, pulling away when they heard the sound of horse hooves. He quickly advanced toward her, gripping her by the waist and pulling her up with him onto the roof. He set her down gently, the light of the sunset shining down on them. Highlighting their features. Marinette noticed the way that cat's eyes light up with the green and the cat slits. She inhaled, pulling the skirts of her gown apart. Chat watched her, eyeing her to make sure that there was no underlying injuries there.

"I couldn't escape, they had horses and followed me like ten blocks." she said to him out of breath.

Chat nodded. "Take a breath, it's okay." he said. "Maybe you should um... take off that gown. It's probably weighing you down."

Marinette rubbed her lips, nodding in agreement. She ripped the remaining fabric of her gown and slowly peeled off the crinoline. Leaving her barefoot and her legs bare from her gown fabric almost completely gone. Chat felt his cheeks get hot, seeing her legs so out in the open. Marinette turned over to him, biting her lip. She knew that she had to get rid of him in order to help him as Ladybug. But a part of her did not want to leave just yet. Not after he had just rescued her again. "Thanks." she said. "You know, for rescuing me. A-Again."

"You don't have to thank me." he said, moving over and pressing a hand to her shoulder. "Are you alright now? Can you breathe okay?"

"I'm alright, thank you." she said.

Chat nodded, moving in to try and carry her back to safety. But a flash came towards her. His eyes widened, instantly grabbing her and pulling her behind him. He quickly spun his staff, letting the light ricochet off of it. Narrator screamed out. "You are supposed to kiss the princess and share your love at sunset! I did that on purpose!" she yelled.

"Rose, stop this!" Marinette cried from behind the hero.

"I am not Rose princess!" she yelled.

"Look, I am pretty sure that she has told you already but Marinette and I are not a thing!" Chat cried out. "You're running on negative emotions right now. Let us help you."

"No! Marinette deserves a prince in her life! And you are that prince! Don't worry, I know what can help you finally understand!" she cried, landing on the roof and launching a kick Chat's way. He caught her foot, twirling her over onto her stomach. 

He turned to Marinette, grabbing her by the waist and bringing her to the edge of the roof. "Please, don't throw-"

"I wouldn't throw you princess." he said with a smile, handing her his stick. "Take it."

"Wait, how-"

"Don't worry about me. Take it and go." he said, pressing the button and extending it. He pressed it again, watching as it brought Marinette down to safety. She watched below as he turned back to the akumatized Rose. He gripped it tightly, turning over and rushing down the alley. She looked down at the staff that Chat had entrusted her with. He left himself vulnerable just to make sure that she was safe. It was very noble of him. Like the knight Narrator kept comparing him to. Marinette couldn't help but smile as she ducked down beside a tall dumpster, calling out for Tikki.


	7. Thank You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Ladybug fend off The Narrator
> 
> What is this feeling that Adrien is starting to feel when he's close to Marinette?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than most, my apologies guys! But I have a lot planned for the future chapters and I want to finish this story (writing and posting) by March. So please bare with me! Sorry I kept you waiting for so long! I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> 😊😁💛

Chat wasn't very good at defending himself without his staff. Sure he knew some hand to hand, but the staff was his strong suit. Whatever. It would be a small price to pay if it meant that Marinette was safe from the harm that Narrator caused. He jumped down onto another roof, taking in another inhale. He looked over, seeing the akumatized woman get closer with her necklace in hand. He felt himself start to slowly get weak from his seemingly endless sprinting and jumping. He braced himself for the light, covering his face with his hands as he fell down onto an air conditioning hub with a harsh thud. But be felt nothing. It was blocked. He looked up, seeing the Narrator pulled back and on the roof across from his. He slowly moved up back on his feet, hissing as he felt blood drip from his shoulder wound when he impacted with the huge air conditioning machine. "Ladybug." he called with a smile.

She turned to him, grinning. "Hello Chat." she said. holding her hand out to him. "I'm sorry I'm late. I ran into a little trouble on the way here. Having fun though?"

"Yeah." he said. "I'm just horsing around. You know me."

The two turned over to the akumatized Rose as she let out a frustrated squeal. She stood up and ran over to reach towards the roof that the two of them were standing on. Ladybug threw the yo-yo, hitting her in the chest as he almost came to standing on the building they were on. It swung over to her ankle as Rose fell down headfirst. Ladybug pulled on the yo-yo string, pulling Narrator to the edge so that she hung from her ankle. Quickly, she took a hold of her necklace and broke it with her fist. Chat watched as she got rid of the akuma and everything slowly went back to normal. He looked over at his shoulder, watching as the red light wafted over it. His wound was now gone. He let out a sigh, not feeling any more pain and able to roll it. He turned over towards the young lady, who was now hanging confused as ever. Ladybug helped her down to the ground and whispered explanations to her, like she always did. Chat smiled, moving over towards her as Rose moved towards the coming authorities for medical attention and interviews. "Thanks for keeping her on her toes." she said. "I didn't even have to use my lucky charm."

"Yeah." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks LB."

"Anytime."

"Are you alright? What kept you?"

"I uh... was taking care of the civilians." she said. "Those knights were really running them ragged looking for a girl in a red dress."

"That girl! Yes! That girl! Did you catch her on your way here?" he cried.

"What? No." she said, rubbing the back of her shoulder. "But I'm sure she is fine. She wasn't meant to be here since she was kidnapped, so my cure must of sent her to where she was originally." Chat let out a sigh of relief. "Why do you ask? Is she... important to you?"

"I just want to make sure that she's okay." he told her. "It was really because of me that this is happening to her. She became the akuma's target. I want to make sure she's safe after being attacked. Not once but twice now."

Marinette smiled. He seemed to genuinely care for her civilian self. She pressed a hand to his cheek, tapping it gently. "I am pretty damn sure that if you were here to protect her, she is just fine."

Chat grinned. "Thanks LB." he said. "Can you handle the girl? I need to go and find her. Make sure she's safe."

"I'll handle her. No worry. You take the time you need and find her." she said with a smile.

Chat smiled. He always admired her. Her kindness was the reason that he had always been in love for her for so long. He grinned, hugging her tightly before running off. Ladybug turned over quickly, jumping down and grabbing the staff that she had left there on the ground. He gripped it tightly, rushing away from this alley.

* * *

_"Marinette, really I am so so so sorry!"_

"Rose, it's fine. Really. There is also no need to cry." she said, looking down at the influx of items that she had managed to make in the few hours. She moved down onto her bed.

 _"I'm so sorry!"_ Rose said, the sound of her wiping her tears coming off.

 _"Rose, big deep breaths. It's not your fault."_ Marinette heard Juleka call in the background.

"She's right Rose. You don't at all need to apologize to me. I understand your love for me and that you want to see me happy."

_"But I had no right to do that to you. I really should have just listened to you."_

"Rose, I promise you that it is not a big deal. Besides, you didn't know what you were doing when you were akumatized. It happens. You were just being a friend to me. A good friend. You really cared about my happiness. And I really- AH!" she cried, jumping up as she looked to the balcony window. Chat was right there, upside down. Hanging like Tarzan. Tapping a gentle claw on the glass.

 _"Marinette?! Marinette, what happened?!"_ Rose cried on the opposite end.

"I uh... I gotta go! I'm sorry Rose. I forgive you though!"

_"Wait, Mari! Who's there?! Is it Chat-"_

She hung before she could listen. Slowly she opened the door. "What are you doing here?" she gasped his way.

"Sorry. I knocked this time. I didn't know that you were on the phone." Chat said, jumping down onto the small balcony.

"That's fine." she said to him. "Is something the matter?"

"I came for my... my stick." he said.

"You could have just transformed back and the stick would have left my room. You came just to see me... didn't you?" Marinette asked, a smile curling on her lips at the thought that Chat was here just to check up on her.

"Uh... uh yeah." Chat said, feeling his cheeks get hot.

Marinette turned away from the doorway, allowing him to walk inside. "Well, you've been busy. It's only been what, two days?" he said, seeing the state of the place.

"Oh. Yeah. Most of this is from yesterday. But I've been busy today as well after the whole Narrator thing." she said.

Chat looked over, noticing a book laying on the ground. And he was close to stepping on it. He leaned down, picking it up and looking at it. There was a magnificently well-done sketch on the page. "This is beautiful." he said. "Is this from the gown you had today?"

Marinette turned over and grinned. "Oh... yeah." she said to him, rubbing the cover of the book. "I'm wasn't a fan of the red or that puffy crinoline on the inside of it. And since I have a wedding coming up, I thought that I might as well design something new for it. I loved the color and how I looked in it, so I want to recreate it."

Chat grinned. "This is gorgeous Marinette. And a wonderful idea." he said.

Marinette turned back to his desk and handed the staff to him. "Here." she said. "Thank you for letting me borrow it. And for trying to protect me. I really owe you a big thank you for today in general."

"You are most welcome princess." he said, patting his pectoral and bowing to her. Marinette blushed hearing him call her that. "You know, this is the second time that you have been put in danger because of that video. I mean that it's over today, but now-"

"You don't have to worry about it." Marinette said to him, moving over and starting to heat up the hot water. "Tea?"

"Tea would be lovely." he said with a smile.

"I am sure that this will get even worse now after today." Marinette said. "That's what you were saying, yeah? But at this point, I no longer mind it."

Chat's eyes widened. "You don't?"

"No. It's alright that people think that we're together. They have the right to believe what they want. I just don't really care anymore. It's fine."

"That's a strange way to go about thinking of this. But I respect it."

"Thank you."

"However-"

"Oh no."

The black clad hero chuckled at her. "It's nothing do bad, I promise. However, do I have something that I want to ask you about?"

"Please." Marinette said, walking to the kettle. "Ask away."

"Even if you don't mind it, there will still be people that would want to harm you. Akumas and normal criminals alike. And should something happen and you are in danger, I think that we should have a plan so I can help you at least try to rescue you. Like... um..."

"Like what?" Marinette asked, moving the tea his direction.

Chat took it with a grateful nod. "Like, maybe a meeting spot. I don't have a beeper or anything. But I can work on that. But for now, there has to be a place where I can at least find you fast. Maybe your parent's bakery for example. Or the bridge? No, that's a horrible idea."

"How about the park?" Marinette blurted out, cutting him off unexpectedly. She huffed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. Not an issue. Besides, I like that." he said. "I can find you there quickly and get you to safety. Should anything else happen though, I want you to know that I am going to help you and protect you. If... If you let me at least."

Marinette grinned. She moved over to him and took his two hands in her own. "It makes me feel safe that you want to do something like this for me. So you don't have to ask. I'd appreciate it if you would do something like that to protect me."

Chat grinned. "Thank you Mari. I'll think about everything. I want it to _purr_ -fect." he said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "I should probably go now."

"You haven't even drank your tea yet." Marinette said, looking at his still warm mug.

"I know. But it's late. I need to hurry out and you should get some sleep." Chat said. "I'm sorry to waste your water."

"Don't worry. It's okay. But be safe out there." she said with a smile, moving over to walk him out. She opened the door and smiled at him. "Have a nice night Chat Noir."

"You too." he said with a curt nod. He gripped his stick tightly before hopping out of the window. When he landed on the roof across, he pressed his hand to his cheek. It was hot. He slowly turned over, seeing Marinette looking out at him and watching him. Almost waiting for him to go safely. He grinned, bowing her direction. He quickly turned over, his smile widening that Marinette was still looking at him.


End file.
